What is the expense ratio of VFH vs XLF?

VFH has an expense ratio of 0.09%, while XLF has an expense ratio of 0.08%.

VFH vs XLF

Vanguard Financials Index Fund ETF Shares vs State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

Vanguard Financials Index Fund ETF Shares (VFH) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - financials securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.61%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $11.8B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.61% Since: Jan 26, 2004

XLF

State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - financials securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.60%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $47.0B ER: 0.08% Yield: 1.60% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Both funds have nearly identical expense ratios (0.08% vs 0.09%), so fees are not a differentiator here. VFH has edged ahead over the past year (1.2% vs -0.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric	VFH	XLF
Expense Ratio	0.09%	0.08%
Dividend Yield	1.6%	1.6%
Fund Family	N/A	N/A
Category	US Sector - Financials	US Sector - Financials

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

VFH +40.3%

XLF +42.3%

Performance Comparison

Period	VFH	XLF	Difference
1 Month	-3.84%	-3.63%	-0.21%
3 Months	-9.79%	-9.99%	+0.20%
6 Months	-7.76%	-7.97%	+0.21%
YTD	-9.79%	-9.99%	+0.20%
1 Year	+1.23%	-0.62%	+1.85%
3 Years	+55.42%	+53.49%	+1.93%
5 Years	+40.25%	+42.31%	-2.06%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	VFH Fees	XLF Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$179	$159	$20
$10.000	20 years	$771	$686	$85
$10.000	30 years	$2.486	$2.212	$273
$50.000	10 years	$896	$797	$99
$50.000	30 years	$12.428	$11.061	$1.366
$100.000	30 years	$24.855	$22.123	$2.732

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	VFH	XLF
Annualized Volatility	19.4%	18.7%
Max Drawdown	-26.8%	-26.9%
Sharpe Ratio	0.22	0.23

Dividend Comparison

Metric	VFH	XLF
Annual Dividend (per share)	$1.95	$0.79
Dividend Yield	1.61%	1.60%
Distribution Frequency	Quarterly	Quarterly

Top Holdings

8 of top 8 holdings overlap (100% overlap in top holdings)

VFH Top Holdings

Name	Weight
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM	8.96%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	8.12%
Mastercard IncorporatedMA	5.12%
Visa Inc.V	4.06%
Bank of America CorporationBAC	3.80%
Wells Fargo & CompanyWFC	2.99%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.GS	2.87%
Morgan StanleyMS	2.31%

XLF Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B	12.46%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM	11.24%
Visa Inc.V	7.20%
Mastercard IncorporatedMA	5.77%
Bank of America CorporationBAC	4.59%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.GS	3.60%
Wells Fargo & CompanyWFC	3.49%
Citigroup Inc.C	2.81%
Morgan StanleyMS	2.81%
American Express CompanyAXP	2.30%

Which One Should You Choose?

Either works if...

you just need broad us sector - financials exposure. Both are solid options — pick whichever your brokerage offers commission-free.